DUBAI: Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, the UAE telecom company better known as du, reported a 27 percent fall in first quarter profit compared to a year earlier.
The Dubai-listed company reported profits of about 257.1 million dirhams ($70 million) for the period with overall sales only marginally lower at 2.88 billion dirhams.
Still, the company said profits had quadrupled compared to the previous quarter as the UAE economy slowly rebounds from the depths of last year’s lockdowns.
Recent growth has been driven by a rise in Du’s broadband customers, which grew by about 13,000 in three months, as well as a jump in iPhone 12 sales and other 5G-enabled devices.
“The COVID-19 vaccination campaign is hitting its stride with over 10 million vaccine doses administered to the nation’s residents.” said Du CEO Fahad Al-Hassawi. "Mobility is increasing with the hospitality sector opening up, international tourism improving and people adapting their lives to COVID-19 situation.”
Du’s revenues gained 5.2 percent measured on a quarter-on-quarter basis due to improved economic activity in the UAE.
The company’s mobile subscriber base increased to 6.9 million customers.
